Wednesday, December 6, 2017

'TIS THE SEASON


ALERT!  SCAMMERS ARE AT IT AGAIN!

New residents to the Ridgeway-Crystal Beach Area are being approached by Orma Bleeks who is trying to convince people to invest in a "design school" on the site of the former Ridgeway/Crystal Beach High School. This is a continuation of the work of convicted fraudster Gary Fraser. He is currently the subject of a law suit and has served time for previous conviction for real estate fraud. He was recently the subject of a CBC report about Syndicated Mortgages that has allegedly robbed residents in Toronto of thousands of dollars. Please do not invest in this project. 



And now, back to my previous post...

I never would have thought this would happen, yet it did and I'm thrilled about it. The community has come together to heal and to improve the public beach lands in Bay Beach.

It was fifteen years ago that the fight began to save the recently purchased property from being sold/given away to developers. It was a long and ugly fight that cost some residents their reputations and money. It divided the community along the lines of "for" or "against" a high rise on the land in front of the town's public beach in Crystal Beach.

Tuesday, December 5, 2017 should be noted in local history as the night that the community declared the Bay Beach War was officially over. A simple and delicious roast beef dinner at the Crystal Ridge Community Centre was shared by members of the community to celebrate the season and the initiative to provide for the proposed playground and park on the land fronting Bay Beach where a twelve story tower was once planned.

The Ridgeway Lions and the Friends of Crystal Beach teamed up to put on the event with the proceeds ear-marked for park improvements. It was announced that, with generous donations from other local sponsors, the fund for improvements has jumped thousands of dollars towards its eventual goal. Some of the work will begin in spring of 2018 with more to come as funds become available.




As the community centre filled up with hungry diners, the Sherkston Trinity Life Singers provided a beautiful seasonal ambiance to the gathering. The hall was decorated beautifully thanks to Gayle Martineau and her crew from the Friends of Crystal Beach. The Ridgeway Lions, with the help of spouses and the Ridgeway Lioness Club cooked and served a family-style feast of roast beef and all the trimmings.

As the music and singing played on, old friends and former enemies dined and conversed, joined together once again as a community with a common goal for the community.

What a welcome and wonderful tribute to the season. 


  I started The Crystal Beach Strand in 2002 when parts of the Bay Beach Properties were in danger of being sold. The former Rebstock-owned properties, including the beach, was bought  by the town in 2001 with gaming money. Everyone was thrilled that the popular beach property would become public. That changed in early 2002 with the proposal to sell off upland parking lots. And the fun began. I wish that the following years and the Bay Beach Story could be erased from my memory as it has effected my life greatly. I said and did many things that I am embarrassed by, but I was waging a war (in my mind) against greedy people who did not care about the community. I do not regret my part in the battles; I regret that any battle was necessary in the first place.

Now I can relax. My work is done here.

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